of clay, each of a different color, and several more layers of adobe blocks, was a mosaic pavement measurg 15 by 20 feet. its green serpentine stones form the slid fa of supertural being. the mosaic rested on top of 28 layers of rough stones, more than 1,000 tons worth, bbrought 150 miles from the mountains near the pacific coast. this was aenormous feat, and ree such mosaics were found at the site. few feet beath thcereni court, a cache of small, typically olmec figures appeared, with almond-aped eyes and bald, elongated heads. as a mark of beauty or status, the skulls of some individuals were deformed in early cldhood when the bones were stilsoft. made of jade, serpentine and granite, these figures seem to enact a ritual now forgotten. these carefully buried works of art may be offerings to spirits dwelling deep within the earth. their hidden presence may have charged the sacred precinct with spiritual energy. the olmec world was alive with unseen spirits that contrled all natural phenomena. thunder cracks ) rresent the power of these mysterious forces, olmec artists combined features of